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The internet found humor in the fact that Christopher Nolan’s dark, thoughtful and three-hour WWII biopic Oppenheimer, and Greta Gerwig’s bright, campy and feminist IP movie Barbie, were releasing on the same day. As a result, the “Barbenheimer” meme was born, resulting in many planning for the world's most bizarre double feature. The idea caught on, resulting in incredibly high numbers of people seeing both auteur projects back to back. It became a complete box office sensation, leading to record-breaking opening weekends for both films. Even almost a month out, the films continue to have high turnout, with Oppenheimer having hit a wild box office number. 

According to Deadline, Oppenheimer just passed the $600 million mark for the global box office, becoming Nolan’s fifth highest grossing movie. The film so far has outperformed Batman Begins and Dunkirk, and just extended its IMAX run due to high demand for the film. Oppenheimer is performing well above expectations and had one of the most lucrative openings for an R-rated drama ever with a $82 million opening weekend. 

This is incredibly surprising, and one can conclude the Barbenheimer trend is having a massive impact on the film’s success. Granted, some audiences may not have initially been attracted to seeing a three-hour period drama in the theaters, despite the all-star cast at the center of Oppenheimer. However the pop culture moment surrounding the double feature did wonders for marketing the film and prompted many to see a film that they otherwise may not have. Positive word of mouth and excellent critic reviews have given Oppenheimer lasting power, allowing it to continue to gain and turn out strong box office numbers. 

To be sure, greenlighting a $100 million dollar period drama to be released exclusively in theaters in an age of low theater turnout is a huge gamble. Oppenheimer even booked most of the IMAX screens in the country, much to the chagrin of Tom Cruise, who released his seventh Mission: Impossible film the weekend prior. Against all odds, audiences turned up to theaters, showing Barbieheimer was incredible press for the film, as well as the strength of Christopher Nolan’s reputation and magnetism as a filmmaker. 

It’s still unknown if the success of Oppenheimer will have an industry-wide impact or will be considered a fluke. One thing's for sure, though: audiences are loving the film, which has given it a lasting power that goes beyond the Barbenheimer opening weekend. If these numbers say anything, moviegoers are looking for new stories and perspectives, and hopefully more ambitious projects are given the same theatrical treatment in the future. We will continue to follow the film’s growth and if it continues to break records and tops Nolan’s other films.

Oppenheimer is still playing exclusively in theaters, so make sure you check out the WWII epic on the biggest screen possible while you still can. For information about other films heading to cinemas later this year, you can consult our 2023 movie release schedule. 

Untold: Hall of Shame Clip Delves Into Steroid Scandal

There are three things that, at this point, most people can probably agree on as it pertains to Walt Disney World’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. It was an incredible piece of themed entertainment, the likes of which we’d never seen before. It also was really expensive, but did not go well. The Starcruiser is shutting down in September after months of struggles, but now we know exactly how bad it all was for Disney as the company has revealed it’s taking a hit of $250 million in accelerated depreciation.

The number was revealed during this week’s quarterly earnings call for the Walt Disney Company. Accelerated depreciation means the company will be reducing its tax liabilities on the Galactic Starcruiser for the next few years, in exchange for paying more later on, but the number of $250 million is just massive. It gives us an indication of what it cost to build the Starcruiser, but it’s likely only a fraction of what Disney World actually spent since one has to believe that the closure was due to costs of operation exceeding revenue.

It was clear from the beginning that the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was going to have difficulties. It was built to be a multi-day Star Wars adventure that guests could take part in, interacting with characters, and choosing sides in a battle between the First Order and the Resistance. It was a dream come true for any Star Wars fan. And the Starcruiser only had about 100 rooms, meaning that the number of people taking part in the adventure was fairly limited, meaning unlike your average Disney World theme park, crowds wouldn’t be too much of an issue.

Unfortunately, the expense of creating such an experience, combined with the limited occupancy, meant that being able to experience the Galactic Starcruiser was not cheap. A night at the Galactic Starcruiser, even with accommodations and food included, was one of the most expensive days you could spend at Disney World.

It’s not a question of whether it was worth it. Most of those that actually experienced the Starcruiser seemed to feel it was. The issue was that it was unclear how many people who would have wanted to experience it, could actually do so. Were there enough people to sustain this undertaking? The answer, we would now confirm, is no.

The writing was on the wall when Galactic Starcruiser shifted its calendar so that it wasn’t open seven days a week anymore. Then, earlier this year, as part of a massive cost-cutting play at Disney, it was announced the Glactic Starcruiser would close at the end of September. The experience is sold out through the end of its run, something that we haven’t seen since its first few months of Galactic Starcruiser open.

And of course, even after the financial bleeding stops and the Starcruiser is closed, Disney World almost certainly won’t be done spending money, as it’s all but impossible that the building will remain vacant forever. It’s been implied that Disney World already has ideas for what to do with the building, and several million more dollars will need to be spent transforming it into whatever comes next.

The “Barbenheimer” phenomenon continues. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie has already crossed the billion-dollar mark. Will Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer be next? On this week’s show, we celebrate both films and their lasting achievement, reinvigorating a relatively bleak summer at the box office. 

Also this week, we are joined by director André Øvredal to discuss his new film “The Last Voyage of the Demeter.” Universal’s latest Dracula monster flick is a take on the Dracula mythos that heavily leans into the “monster.” Jake really loved this film. Stick around after the interview to hear his full review.

Timestamps (approx. only)

00:00:00 – Intro 
00:08:47 – André Øvredal Interview (‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’)
00:35:53 – ‘Barbie’ Crossed $1 Billion Globally 
00:41:49 – Where Will ‘Oppenheimer’ Finish At The Box Office?
00:52:52 – Where Was It? Movie Game
01:07:18 – Outro

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